Belt link for cartridges



" Feb.. 26, me. L. A, cm1-EN` 2,395,460

BELT LINK FOR CARTRIDGES Filed March 13, 1942 Patented Feb. 26, 1946 Unire Se TS PATENT QFFI'CE (Granted underV the act of. March 3 1883,. as amended April 30, 1928; 3700. G; 757) 3 Ciaims.

The invention described herein may be manufacturedand used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a cartridge feed belt of the disintegrating type and more particularly to an improved link for such a belt.

In the use of automatic guns in aircraft and similar military applications it is essential that the greatest possible length of ammunition belt be immediately available in a suitable boxer magazine.

It is therefore the primary object of this invention to produce a belt link having enough strength to allow the full belt lifting capacity of the gunfeed mechanism and/or any auxiliary feed mechanism to be completely utilized.

It is a further object to produce a belt link which willhave symmetrical feeding characteristics when fed from right o-r left and with either single or double loop leading.

A'n additional object is to produce a belt link which may be economically and conveniently manufactured.

The exact nature of the invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective View cf the new link.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the new link.

Figure 3 is an end elevational view of the new link.

Figure 4 is a sectional View on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the blank from which the link is fabricated.

' Figures 6 and 7 are plan views of a belt assembled with the new links, Figure 6 showing the single loop leading and Figure '7 sho-wing the double loop leading.

Figures 8 and 9 are perspective views showing a belt assembled from the old links, Figure il showing the single loop leading and Figure 9 showing the double loop leading.

Fig-urel 10"'is an end elevational View of the old link.

` Belts of this type are usually made up ci a plurality of individual' links each comprising a pair of spaced apart but axially aligned cartridge gripping loops and a single connecting loop extending laterally from the link body and adapted tobe received between and in axial alignment with the spaced loops of an adjacent link. In such beltsthe cartridges inserted through the loops form the pintles Vin aflexiblebelt which dis--` integrates as the cartridges are fed into the re ceiver ofthe gun and4 successively withdrawn by the extractor mechanism.

In belts of this character commonly used heretofore and shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10 the indi*- vidual links l have been formed'in the cross sectional shape of a` letter W, the arms of the W having been closed upwardly upon the centra-l point 2v to form the connecting loop 3 and the cartridge engaging loops 4 and 5 as best shown in Fig. 10. This type of link comprises alongitudinal body portion S having a laterally offset' centralsection. From the lower edge of this cen` tral section theconnection loopg3extends downwardly andis turned upwardly and closed upon the upper edge of the body portion which forms` the central point 2 of the W. From the upper edge or" the end portions ofthe body 6 the coaxial spaced loops 4 and extend downwardly and? are turned upwardly and closed upon the upper` edge-2 to form cartridge gripping loops. It will` be obvious that when links of this'character have been assembled into a belt and are fed into a standard Browning machine gun from the left; double 'loop leading as shown in Fig. 9, the feed pawlil shown in dotted lines will engage thelinks in a` positionin which there will be but a single thickness of metal between the feed pawl l andi thecartridge body S. When the same-belt is fed from the same side, single loop leading as shownl in Fig. 8, the feed pawl 'l' will engage the body. portion 6 of the link which overlies the spaced loops lv and 5 and there will be a double thickness of metal between pawl 'l and cartridge body 8. In actual practicethis lack of symmetry has resulted in malfunctions to such an extent that army practices require the double loop to be leading, whether the feeding is from the right or left side of the gun. The disadvantageous conditions introduced by the said lack of symmetry are overcome by links made in accordance with the present invention.

A similarly unsymmertical condition will prevail with respect'to engagement with the hold,- ing pawl when the beltis fed tothe gunfrom the right with either single or double loops leading.

The new link shown in Figures l to 7 comprises a body portion 9 from the lower end edges of which extend a cartridge neck engaging loop I0 and a cartridge body engaging loop l'l, the loops l0 and il bein-gicoaxial and longitudinally spaced from each other. It will be noted that the body portion' S- includes a pair of spaced apart wel . tional linkdiscussed above.

wall portions 9a and 9b.V The loop il! is formed on the wall portion 9a as an extension thereof which curves into a circle terminating at a free edge Illa of the wall portion 9a. The loop H curves similarly as an extension of the wall portion 9b and has its terminal end portion lying in close proximity to a free edge II a on the wall portion 9b, From the Vcentralupper edge of the body portion 9a connecting loop I2 extends in an opposite direction from the loops I and II. The intermediate part of the body portion or section, herein designated by the numeral 9c, provides for the formation of the connecting loop I2. The body portion 9c has a free edge I2a toward which the terminal en d of the connecting loop portion I2 is curved to form a loop. Suitable offsets have been formed in the body section to insure that the axes of the loopswill be parallel and spaced from each other by thepitch distance of the belt. The principa] characteristic of the new' link is that the connecting loop has.. been closed in a generally-downward direction while the cartridge gripping loops have been closed in a generally upward direction, or'vice versagthe crosssection of the new link approximating a closed S rather than 'the closed W of the conven- From the plan views of a belt assembled fro-m the new links, Figs. 6 and '7, it will be seen that regardless'of the direction in which the belt may be fed or whether single or double loop leading, the feeding and holding pawls will have symmetrical engagement with the belt and allow for a greater amount of stretching without causing feed stoppages. However, in order to eliminate stretching of the connecting loop and thus further increase the lifting capacity of the belt, a tongue I3 has been provided on the end of the connecting loop I2 which may be interlocked with the body portion 9 of the link or otherwise secured thereto. As the doublerloops are required to exert a resilient gripping action on the cartridge body it is not considered practicable 4to interlock them and positively prevent stretching in these parts. However, as the load is divided approximately equally j between the double loops of a link, the tendency to stretch at this point is Vnot severe and the load whichV may be sustained thereby generally exceeds the belt lifting capacity of the gun.V

From an inspection of the blank shown in Fig. 5V it will be noted that the edge I4 of the body portion 9 opposed to the cartridge gripping member ll diverges from the connecting loop forming portion I2 at an angle greater than a right angle and that the terminal end I5 of the member l I. is substantially parallel thereto. This construction insures that when the cartridge body gripping loop II has been closed upon itself the dividing line between the edges I# and I5 will make a substantial angle with the plane including the axes of the links, thus minimizing the chances for a feed or holding pawl to foul on that edge. It should be understood; however, that this is not always necessary and that my invention is deemed toinclude a link formed with thatV dividing line substantially parallel to the axes ofthe loops, in which case the angle between the edge I4 and the portion I2 of the blank will be substantially a right angle and the edge t5 will be substantially parallel thereto. u

It will be noted that in the new link there are no severely reversed 'bends such as those found at the center tip of the w of the old link. Apart from the considerations already discussed the new link will therefore be stronger as Vtension ,in the the body portion of the link as an element inV the wall of the cartridge gripping loops as well as in the connecting loop.

A furtherv advantage of the use of the new belt will be that it will permit ammunition to be fed directly from standard containers to either right or left hand feed guns without the necessity of repacking to always present the belt to the gun double loop `end first.

, While it is contemplated that the new belt link will generally be made of metal it is .not

intended to be limited thereby, the invention being deemed to include a belt link of the configuration described herein formed of a plastic or other synthetic material.l

In the specication the links have been described by reference to the direction in which the loopsv are formed, It should be noted that vthe directions referred to in the discussion of the forming ol the link are Vertical directions with regard to a lateral plane intersecting `the body portion of the link and including the axes;

of the finished loops.

I claim: Y

1. A cartridge belt link comprising a body section having spaced apart wall portions, each having a free edge, spaced coaxial cartridge-gripping loops respectively integral with said wall portions and each Ycurving as an extension from a respective Wall portion of the body section opposite said free edge thereof into a circle terminating at the respective free edge thereof, at least one of said free edges andthe terminal portion of its associated loop being inclined to the axis of the loop so that the junction of said terminal portion and said free edge is on a line diagonal to the axis of the loop, and al connecting loop axially parallel to the rst named loops and integral with the body section. Y i 2. A cartridge belt link comprising a body section having spaced apart wall portions, each having a free edge, spaced coaxial cartridge-gripping loops respectively integral with said wall portions and eachcurving as an extensionjrom a respective wall portion of the body section opposite said free edge thereof into a circle terminating at the respective free edge thereof, said free edge and the terminal portion of each of said loops being inclined to the axis of the loop so that the junction of each of said terminal portions with its associated free edge is on a line diagonal to the axis of the loop, and a connecting loop axially parallel to the iirst named loops andy integral with the body section. Y

3. A cartridge belt link comprising an intereach end-wall section being generally perpendicular to the horizontal plane passed through the axes of the loops, the pair of loops being respectively integral with the bottom portions of the end-wall sections and curving away therefrom into circles terminating respectively at the top portions of the end-Wall sections, and the single loop being integral with the top portion of the central wall section and curving away therefrom into a circle terminating at the bottom portion of said central Wall section, the junction of each of the pair of loops with the top portion of its respective end-Wall section being substantially on a line diagonal to the axis of said loops.

LEO A. GARTEN. 

